Founded in 1945 and dissolved in 2016, it fell into the trap of American auto companies but did not know it, and went deeper and deeper, this is the true story of the rise and fall of Saab Motors.
The Swedes founded Saab in 1937, also known as Svenska Aeroplan A.B, and "a. b" is "limited company" in Swedish, or "Ltd" in English. Initially, the Stockholm-based company was a Swedish aerospace and defense company that had nothing to do with luxury vehicles. In fact, the Swedes created this company because the local government lacked quality military aircraft. During World War II, the company built aircraft.
After the war, the company needed an additional source of income, so the company made a breakthrough and diversified operations. So, in 1947, the Swedish company began producing cars under the subsidiary of Saab Motors in Trollhartan. The first production car was the Saab 92, a prototype based on Ursaab that stood out for its aerodynamics, with a drag coefficient of 0.30.
Saab 92
In the 50s of the 20th century, the Swedish company also began to manufacture computers, and by the 60s of the 20th century, it was called an important role in the field of aircraft computers. In the late 70s of the 20th century, Saab merged with Scania-Vabis and became known as Saab-Scania. All of these alliances had a significant impact on Saab, but the alliance with General Motors significantly changed the direction and fortunes of the company.
When General Motors bought a 50 percent stake in Saab in 1989, it doomed the company to eternal fate. At first glance, GM's arrival appears to be a pairing in corporate paradise for Saab, giving the Swedish company access to U.S. expertise, financial support and distribution channels, while also providing GM with a strong footprint in Europe and access to the European luxury market.
However, the partnership failed and eventually killed the Swedish brand, so everything went wrong from then on. GM's initial 50 percent investment in 1989 took the business giant as a crucial first step toward Saab's demise.
Saab is a car manufacturer known for its beautifully designed cars, mainly for niche consumers. The Swedish automaker is a business that puts safety and design above profit to uphold its beliefs. GM, on the other hand, focuses on profits. Revenue and huge sales figures. GM's business is to make mass-market attractive cars. So when the two companies formed a joint venture, Saab's direction changed, which became even more evident in the 21st century, when General Motors fully owned the company and turned it into a subsidiary.
GM management wanted Saab to be a repricing Opel, but Saab certainly didn't want that, and in fact, the two sides did fight. Unfortunately, Saab did not win the battle. Therefore, the Swedish company had to make compromises and successively exited cars such as Saab 96, Saab 99 and Saab 900,
Saab 96
Saab 99
Saab 900
In the years that GM was in, Saab released some less popular models, such as the new 900 introduced in 1994 to share the platform with Opel Vectra, the Subaru Impreza-based Saab 9-2x, and the Chevrolet Trailblazer-based Saab 9-17x. However, the Saab 9-2X and 9-17X were designed with American consumers in mind, but failed to meet GM's expectations in terms of market performance, which further contributed to Saab's obscurity.
The most important thing is that European consumers have lost interest in the Swedish company, and Saab's downfall is imminent.
Gone are the days when Saab was almost synonymous with performance and security. After ruining the iconic Swedish company, GM sold it to supercar maker Spyker in 2010. In fact, before that, GM negotiated with Koenigsegg without success. After Spyker accepted, it did not let Saab shine a little, and it was reported that the supplier refused to deliver to Saab's factory in Trofhartan due to financial constraints. In December 2011, Saab tried to secure financing from Chinese investors, but was blocked by GM, and Saab filed for bankruptcy.
GM has since vetoed attempts by Spyker to sign agreements with China's Zhejiang Youth Lotus Automobile Co., Ltd. and Huge Automobile Trading Co., Ltd. As a result, Spyker sued GM, accusing GM of causing $3 billion in losses from its actions, including their decision to halt deals with Chinese investors. However, according to foreign media Auto Express, in June 2012, a Chinese consortium called the Swedish National Electric Vehicle (NEVS) acquired Saab to build a pure electric vehicle for the Chinese market based on the Saab 9-3. Eventually, NEVS also filed for bankruptcy, and Saab canceled a license agreement that allowed Chinese companies to use the Saab name.